July 2019 marks the birth centenary of the 25th and the last ruler of the princely State of Mysore, Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar. The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) will pay a musical tribute to the Maharaja, with a concert by The Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI), on July 20, 6 pm, at the Bangalore Palace. “For the Maharaja, a patron of Western and Carnatic classical music, only a musical tribute would be befitting,” says Khushroo N Suntook, NCPA chairman, and co-founder of the Symphony Orchestra of India. Excerpts from an interview:
Why is the Symphony Orchestra of India termed the fully professional orchestra?
I first heard Kazakh violinist Marat Bisengaliev and his orchestra perform at St. James’s Church in London and was quite amazed with the quality of play. I went backstage and invited them. Marat at first didn’t believe that there was any music in India, so he came over, and over time made several visits with his orchestra. Then one day Marat and me decided to form an orchestra resident in Mumbai. Almost every major city around the world boasts of a resident orchestra, and this was lacking in Mumbai. Since it’s founding the SOI has built a name for itself not only in India but internationally, as well.
Was the Maharaja influenced by music from an early age?
He had ascended the throne in 1940, at the age of 21. Although steeped in studies and music, the immediacy of responsibility came after the death of his father Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar, followed by his uncle Krishnaraja Wadiyar within a few months. While it is public that there wasn’t any function in the Palace where music did not form an integral part of the celebrations, the young royals grew up with Carnatic music and dance. The young prince was also influenced from his father, a jazz aficionado, who developed a ear for Western music. From his early studies in piano from Sister Ignatius from the Good Shepherd Convent in Mysore, he went on to have an encyclopaedic collection of records, state-of-art sound systems and grand pianos that helped him develop the the art of appreciation and discrimination to an advanced degree.
NCPA and the Symphony Orchestra are dedicating this musical tribute to the king?
It gives us immense pleasure to be part of the Maharaja’s 100-year birth celebration. The tribute concert from the SOI chamber orchestra, led by music director Marat Bisengaliev, consist of 28 musicians with violins, violas, cellos, double basses, flute, oboe, clarinet, trumpet, saxophone, piano and percussion.
The orchestra will reflect Wadiyar’s own eclectic aesthetic ranging from Mozart and Albeniz, to Milstein and Jenkins. Composer Medtner, of course, will be of special interest. As a true connoisseur, the Maharaja had helped the Western classical world discover the music of a little-known Russian composer Nikolai Medtner, financing the recording of a large number of his compositions. I have always been fascinated by the Maharaja’s vast repertoire in Western music. I would like to thank the Royal family of Mysore and in particular Maharaja’s daughters Princess Kamakshi Devi and Princess Indrakshi Devi for giving us the opportunity to perform for this will be a fitting tribute to the grand master.
Wadiyar’s contribution to music stretched beyond his kingdom...
Jayachamarajendra’s father, who was a jazz aficionado, was supportive of his son’s musical tastes introducing him and his sister Vijaya to guests as “my two highbrow children.” The young Maharaja acquired a Licentiateship in Piano Performance from the Guildhall School of Music and was granted an honorary Fellowship of the Trinity College of Music, London, in 1945. Shortly before his coronation in 1940, he had visited Rachmaninoff in Switzerland hoping to be accepted by the legendary Russian pianist and composer as a student. It was during this visit that Rachmaninoff introduced him to the works of Russian composer Nikolai Karlovich Medtner (1880-1951). Although the two never met, the Maharaja financed a series of his recordings for HMV, a debt that was repaid by Medtner dedicating his Third Piano Concerto to him.
There are many who owe a lot to Wadiyar’s generosity...
The Maharaja was as discerning and knowledgeable as he was generous, the putting of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London on a stable financial footing for one; and the performance of Richard Strauss’ iconic Four Last Songs , in keeping with the composer’s last wish of having them sung by reigning Wagnerian soprano, Kirsten Flagstadt. The premiere was sponsored by the Maharaja offered who subsidised a live recording too for nearly $5,000 with the disk shipped to his Palace in Mysore. Modern technology has now been able to restore this historical recording.
So appreciative was the young prince of Russian Nikolai Medtner’s compositions, that in 1949 he formed The Medtner Society to spreading awareness
- Khushroo N. Suntook, NCPA Chairman
